'Surprised and Satisfied' at Poa in Portland

“Surprised and satisfied.” Those are the words I told my daughter after she took Lori and me to eat brunch at Poa Café in Portland, Oregon. Surprised because well, hangouts like this one aren’t exactly my vibe. Maybe that’s because my history would instead place me at a Ma and Pa restaurant featuring those large oval plates – one half filled with a three-egg omelet and the other with a huge mound of hashbrowns as part of an all-day breakfast menu.    

Plus, I’m more of a breakfast and a lunch guy, not so much a brunch guy. Still, this was good. I mean, really good.

He said: Since it was late-morning, I was h-u-n-g-r-y for this brunch stop. The menu featured a wide selection of dishes, smoothies, bowls and other choices. I went with the egg and cheese melt. More specifically, “three omlete-style eggs and melted cheddar cheese on toasted sourdough with a side of dressed greens and a seed garnish.” And yes, I added a couple of strips of bacon on the melt.

I was afraid none of the offerings would be that filling. I was wrong. One fork full of the salad and I was off to a good start. Not sure what was in the dressing and maybe it was that in combination with the sunflower seeds and other seeds but my taste buds were happy. And it just continued with the breakfast sandwich of eggs, cheese, toasted sourdough and yes, the bacon. Surprising. Satisfying. Delicious. And it was only $10.

She said: While this might not be one of the places Mark would choose to eat, it most definitely is a place I would choose over and over and over again. The menu just gives a yummy, healthy vibe. You just feel like whatever you order is going to provide nourishment to the body and pleasure to the tastebuds. And that’s what happened. I ordered the Mount Hood Bowl—overnight oats soaked in almond milk and layered with crunchy house granola and creamy Greek yogurt, topped with peanut butter, banana, berries, and chia seeds. Since I don’t live in Portland and can’t eat at POA every day, this bowl sent me scurrying to the internet to find a copycat recipe. I must recreate this recipe! My tastebuds demand it.

By the way…Poa in Swahili means “everything is cool.” At least, that’s what the restaurant website says. I found the Google Swahili definition of poa to be “good.” Still, I’m fine with riding with the restaurant version. Poa was inspired by a 2013 volunteer trip to Tanzania, Africa. The woman-owned café serves energy bites, yogurt, granola, smoothies and a variety of dishes. As a dedicated red meat-eating kind of guy, would I go back to Poa’s Café? Yeah, I would. After all, it’s kind of my vibe.

By the way (part 2)…Poa is near the Concordia neighborhood section of Portland, where my daughter and son-in-law live. Full of smaller, older homes, it’s really pretty with copious amounts of vegetation and a plethora of activity. We easily noticed that during a late afternoon walk with Hallie’s dogs. We saw people walking, jogging, riding bikes, walking dogs and just out and about enjoying the nice weather. Both Hallie and Lori were armed with books to exchange in one of the many free “libraries” erected throughout the neighborhood.








The best part of the walk for the dogs was reaching Alberta Park, a 16-acre spread of grass, trees, playgrounds, basketball, tennis and roller hockey areas with plenty of off-leash fun.


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